Bheki Mlangeni Hospital linen crisis leaves patients ‘sleeping on plastic’

Patients at Bheki Mlangeni District Hospital in Soweto are sleeping on plastic liners and bringing their own blankets to keep warm due to a linen shortage. 

This is according to DA Gauteng MPL Jack Bloom, who said: “Patients have not had proper laundry for more than a month and sanitary conditions have worsened with piles of dirty laundry.

“The linen shortage is caused by broken machines at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital laundry which are used for laundry at Bheki Mlangeni Hospital.”

Bloom said Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital faced a similar linen shortage last month.

In reply to questions in the legislature, Gauteng health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said there have been equipment breakdowns across the five provincial laundries.

“Their equipment is outdated and spares are not readily available, so repair times are long,” she said.

The situation was being managed and there was extra linen and disposal linen for theatres, she added

Bloom proposed the health department should review its laundries, and where necessary use “cost-efficient private laundries to ensure hospitals never run short of essential clean laundry”.

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